The comments came in response to questions about reports suggesting that a group of gay clergymen exert undue influence on Vatican policy, the Associated Press reported. Italian news media reported this year that the allegations of what they call the "gay lobby" contributed to the decision by Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign.

The term "gay lobby" is bandied about with abandon in the Italian media, the AP wrote, and is decidedly vague. Interpretations of what it means have ranged from the benign concept of a group of celibate gay priests who are friends, to a suggestion that a group of sexually active gay priests use blackmail to exert influence on Vatican decision-making.

Stressing that Catholic social teaching calls for homosexuals to be treated with dignity and not marginalized, Francis said he would not condone anyone using private information for blackmail or to exert pressure, according to the AP. "A lot is written about this 'gay lobby. I still haven't found anyone at the Vatican who has 'gay' on his business card," Francis said, chuckling. "You have to distinguish between the fact that someone is gay and the fact of being in a 'lobby.'"

Rev. Charles Ranges, a Catholic priest in Essex, Vt., reflected Monday on what Pope Francis had to say, including his remarks about gay priests. "He's just talking the words of Jesus," Ranges told New England Cable News. "Jesus was the one who had dinner with prostitutes and tax collectors and all kinds of people who were marginalized."

Ranges, who oversees the Holy Family and St. Lawrence churches in his parish, pointed out that while Pope Francis may have struck a conciliatory tone with his remarks, the Vatican is not changing any major policies here. It still opposes same-sex marriage and does not condone homosexual acts. "I don't think it's a question of whether the priest is gay or straight, it's whether he's living out his commitment to celibacy," Ranges noted. "I think Pope Francis was saying, 'We need to be a church that's forgiving and repentant and not a church that's judgmental or self-righteous.'"

The remarks got a lot of media attention not only because Pope Francis spoke so candidly, but also because the comments represented a shift from his predecessor. In 2005, Pope Benedict wrote a document saying men with homosexual tendencies should be barred from the priesthood.

"I hope that they continue along this path and kind of walk the walk and not just talk the talk," said Nicole Williams, who attended Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington, Vt. Monday afternoon. "I think that it's really important that the Church embraces all walks of life, because in the end, the Church and God and the universe are all about love and no one should be marginalized."

Kim Fountain, the executive director of Burlington's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer community center, RU12?, suggested Pope Francis's remarks may make for an eye-catching headline, but that the spirit behind them still can be harmful to individuals' sexual identities.

"It unfortunately falls into that same narrow category of 'love the sinner but hate the sin,'" Fountain told NECN Monday. "That kind of thinking promotes the general notion of 'tolerance,' that an LGBT person has to be 'tolerated.' That's another way of putting LGBT people down: 'If you would only fix yourself or repent, then you would be okay with me.'"

The pope's comments followed a tour of Brazil which was widely regarded as successful. While celebrating an open-air Mass for a crowd estimated at 3-million or more Catholics on Copacabana beach Sunday, Francis told the faithful, "The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away."

On his flight back to the Vatican, Pope Francis also said he wants a greater role for women in the Catholic Church, though he reiterated they cannot become priests.

A recent Pew Forum study found growing acceptance among Catholics of the issue of same-sex marriage. Slightly more than half of Catholics, 54 percent, support same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Forum findings. That number is up from 40 percent in 2001.